A practical, versatile, and efficient method for the palladium-catalyzeddirectcyanation of readily available acetanilides with K4[Fe(CN)6] as a safe cyanating agent through C–Hbondactivation with excellent C2 regioselectivity was developed. This finding represents a new strategy for the synthesis of N-(2-cyanoaryl)acetamides, which are important structural motifs in natural products and pharmaceuticals